Peter Arno's Side-Show for November 1937

There was quite a bit of hanky-panky taking place in Peter Arno's trio of cartoons published in College Humor's issue of November 1937. The drawings appeared, of course, in the popular cartoonist's regular "Side-Show" feature. Arno's deft depictions of all those well-dressed (and well-underdressed) grown-ups misbehaving seemed to keep that young college crowd perpetually entertained. Go figure.

"There must be some mistake, sir! The charge here is for crêpes suzettes!"               "This Miss Maxwell, sir—Shall we send her a thank-you note?"
                                                                                                                   "Why, Hartley—you're jealous!"
Peter Arno
College Humor, November 1937

Note:  Of the 600 million-odd blogs in the world, this is the only one which regularly seeks out cartoonist Peter Arno's mid-1930s work that appeared in the magazine College Humor. That's an oversight on those other blogs' part, I'm sure. Needless to say, submissions of other obscure Arno works are always welcome here. I might even send contributors a thank-you note.

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Peter Arno: Prone to Illness?

Peter Arno's timid man is a stock character who makes frequent appearances in the cartoonist's work. Sometimes his comments show him to be oblivious to libidinous behavior in his vicinity. Here's a 1937 example from College Humor that appeared in the blog archives:

"See here! Won't you two have a bit of nourishment?"

Peter Arno

"Side-Show," College Humor, Vol. 5, No. 3, July 1937, p. 18

The timid man is similarly clueless in his bland observations about New York's sexy night life. An original New Yorker drawing from the same year as the College Humor cartoon was sold at Heritage Auctions on April 17:

"One would think she'd be subject to a series of nasty colds."
Peter Arno
Original art
The New Yorker, October 23, 1937, p. 16

"One would think she'd be subject to a series of nasty colds."
Peter Arno
Original art
The New Yorker, October 23, 1937, p. 16

Here's the bidding as it stood one day prior to the sale:

Peter Arno
Heritage Auctions listing accessed April 16, 2024

https://comics.ha.com/itm/original-comic-art/illustrations/peter-arno-single-panel-gag-cartoon-illustration-original-art-undated-/a/322416-48015.s?ic2=mytracked-lotspage-lotlinks-12202013&tab=MyTrackedLots-101116#

Sold!

"One would think she'd be subject to a series of nasty colds."
Peter Arno
The New Yorker, October 23, 1937, p. 16

"One would think she'd be subject to a series of nasty colds."
Peter Arno
Original art
The New Yorker, October 23, 1937, p. 16

A cartoon by Peter Arno and a spot drawing of cats by Lee[?]

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1937-10-23/flipbook/016/

Spot drawing of cats by Lee[?]

Note:  I don't recognize this New Yorker spot artist named Lee, or something similar to Lee. Reader assistance would be appreciated. Peter Arno I recognize.

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Jazz Club: Julian de Miskey Proposed New Yorker Cover Art

Julian de Miskey's biographical page on the Papillon Gallery website is illustrated with "Jazz Club," a proposed New Yorker magazine cover, we are plausibly told. The artwork is extraordinarily energetic, overrunning its borders on all four sides. The palette is dominated by reds and browns; the composition has exaggerated diagonals going off to the right and to the left. Animated horn players seen from above occupy the foreground, slender and angulated dancers fill the middle ground, and seated club-goers provide a simple line of perspective at the back.

Julian de Miskey, Jazz Club, c. 1928

De Miskey's published New Yorker cover of June 6, 1925—his second and the magazine's sixteenth—makes for an interesting comparison with "Jazz Club." It's basically the same subject, highly-stylized but by comparison far more static and with a more conventional use of space. It is designed for a two-color press, the magazine's financial constraints being paramount in its early days. The evident similarity with the circa 1928 cover proposal possibly may have precluded the latter's use.

Julian de Miskey, The New Yorker, June 6, 1925

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/418342252871496634/

Instead, the magazine may have gone with a more humorous take on the 1928 jazz scene, one which remained somewhat stylized but which focused on the activity at the tables in the night club rather than on the dance floor. By now, the magazine's covers are printed in four colors—and this one's the bee's knees!

Julian de Miskey, The New Yorker, January 14, 1928

http://archives.newyorker.com/?i=1928-01-14#folio=CV1

The Papillon Gallery has useful biographical information on de Miskey:

http://www.papillongallery.com/julian_de_miskey.html

Note:  Attempted Bloggery would love for readers to provide scans or photos of more original art by Julian de Miskey and for more proposed but rejected New Yorker cover art, particularly from published artists.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Julian de Miskey

Proposed New Yorker Covers

Jazz

Attempted Bloggery's Jazzed Up Index

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